[Family suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, Paris 1890-1899. Role of popular illustrations].

History has nearly forgotten a series of six suicides by family groups composed of parents and children residing in the same household, which received wide attention in the 1890s. This period saw the launch of illustrated supplements to Parisian daily newspapers, several of which produced dramatic depictions of these tragedies. The cause of the suicides was believed to be extreme poverty or the fear thereof. In the latter cases, it is argued that newspaper illustrations facilitated the carrying out of suicidal acts by persons whose circumstances placed them at risk for suicide. The choice of death by carbon monoxide poisoning was due to a wish by parents to die together with their children and to the hope of a peaceful death.